The Forester Brigade (known as the Midland Brigade until 1958) was an administrative formation of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

from 1948 to 1964. The Brigade administered the regular

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s of the

English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the British Army had fourteen infantry depots, each bearing a letter. The depots were territorially organised, and Infantry Depot F at

Strensall Strensall is a village in the Strensall with Towthorpe civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Foss north of York and north-east of Haxby. In 2001 the parish had a population of 3,81 ...

was the headquarters for the county regiments of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. In 1948, the depots adopted names and this depot became the Midland Brigade with all regiments being reduced to a single battalion at the same time. The Midland Brigade was formally formed on 14 July 1948, combining the depots of four regiments: * The Royal Warwickshire Regiment * The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment * The Royal Leicestershire Regiment *

The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

Under the

1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected wa ...

changes announced in July 1957, the infantry of the line was reorganised: accordingly, in 1958, the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was transferred to the

East Anglian Brigade The East Anglian Brigade (known as G Group until 1948) was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1946 to 1968, that administered the regiments with recruiting grounds in East Anglia, and the East of England. History After the Second ...

and the Midland Brigade was renamed as the Forester Brigade. From 1958 all regiments in the Brigade adopted a common cap badge: ''"A

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

voided, the points pommelled, and thereon, on a mount, an antelope statant gorged with a ducal coronet and chained within The Garter, the whole encircled with a chaplet of oak-leaves issuant from a scroll inscribed 'Forester Brigade' and ensigned with, upon a mount, a tiger passant guardant.'' The badge combined parts of the cap badges of the Royal Warwicks, Royal Leicesters and Sherwood Foresters. From 1960 the Forester Brigade was based at

Glen Parva Barracks Glen Parva Barracks was a military installation at Glen Parva near South Wigston in Leicestershire. History The barracks opened under the name of Wigston Barracks in 1881. Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encourag ...

. In 1963, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment was transferred to the

Fusilier Brigade The Fusilier Brigade was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1958 to 1968, that administered those English infantry regiments titled as fusiliers. History The Brigade was created as part of the 1957 Defence White Paper announced i ...

, and in the following year the Royal Leicestershire Regiment joined the East Anglian Brigade and the Sherwood Foresters moved to the

Mercian Brigade The Mercian Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1964. The Brigade administered the infantry regiments from the area of England between the Trent, Mersey and Severn rivers that roughly corresponded to the ancie ...

. With this, the Forester Brigade was disbanded.

Units

During its existence, the brigade was made up of the following units: , style="text-align:left; width:50%; vertical-align:top;",

Regular battalions

*1st Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

(1946–1962) *2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1946–1948} *1st Battalion,

Royal Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most oth ...

(1946–1958) *2nd Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1946–1948) *1st Battalion,

Royal Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...

(1946–1963) *2nd Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment (1946–1948) *1st Battalion,

Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

(1946–1963) *2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (1946–1948, 1952–1955) , style="text-align:left; width:50%; vertical-align:top;",

Territorial battalions

*7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1947–1962) *2/7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1947–1950) *4th Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1947–1950) *6th Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1947–1950) *4th/6th Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (1950–1958) *5th Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment (1947–1961) *4th/5th Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment (1961–1963) *5th (Derbyshire) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (1947–1961) *8th (Nottinghamshire) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (1947–1961) *5th/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (1961–1963)

References

{{British Infantry Infantry Infantry administrative brigades of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1948